Burlington Writers Workshop 03/12/23 Leadership Team Meeting Minutes approved 5/7/23.

Attendance: Janet Mckeehan-Medina (Co-Chair), Katie Lazarus (Co-Chair), Dick Matheson (Treasurer), Millie Eidson (Secretary), Sam Fenner (Managing Director), Jon Fenner (Comms Team Lead), Julie Hay (Board member), Skip Keith (member) Jane Nevins (Fundraising), Amy Place (member) Rebecca O’Bern (MSR)

(Key action items underlined and bolded.)

Meeting convened at 6:33 PM

Minutes from previous meeting approved.

Administrative Update – (Sam)

• COI proposal approval: Motion to accept proposals from Jan. 18, passed
• Green Mountain Book Festival, used book sale
  • Green Mountain Book Festival, used book sale
  • Like last year, Sam will seek out volunteers to help
• BWW History
  • Suggested developing written history, to promote for fundraising, and for Board knowledge (what worked, what didn’t, issues, lessons learned)
  • Bill Pendergrass offered to draft, will talk to current and previous Board members and longtime members
  • There will be different perspectives but will emphasize historical events
  • Previous materials in studio: posters, CLAs; maybe useful
  • Can meet Vermont guidelines/laws for nonprofit boards: includes education/guidance for LT
  • Ties into role descriptions
  • Send items for the history to Sam
• Advisory Board?
  • Examples: bookstore owners, authors, publishers
  • What would be the goals?
  • Adirondack Center for Writing Exec. Dir. recommended having a roster of respected consultants to call on as needed, help get word out about BWW
  • What do they get out of it? Typically nonpaid volunteers. Would need to provide them a specific purpose, deliverables.
  • Find out more about how these are used in other organizations.
  • Dick will look for previous relevant notes and send to Sam.
• Contributing Member (CM) discount for CMs ends 3/31 for master classes
  • Since we started describing benefits for CM, donations are now increasing
  • List of benefits on registration page already available, but can think of additional ones
  • Extend discount for 2023 (change wording on website); then evaluate whether reduction in income is offset by increased CM donations
• Announcements
  • Workshops: requests for early morning workshop time; Writing Embodied is trying 2nd Wed. morning for a few months, then will re-evaluate
  • Strategic Plan: Resource done; Finance/Funding: not many changes anticipated; Programs team needs to meet and update in time for annual meeting
  • Documenting roles: Sam will complete by contacting people, starting with Dick; His role as Treasurer involves hundreds of files, documentation; will need new secure location for future transition to new Treasurer

Communication Team (Jon)

• bwwvt.org and bwwvt.com are available to reduce use of full name
  • Fee is low to start, about $10/year; small increases in later years
  • .org makes more sense because we are a nonprofit
  • can run in tandem with full name for a while before full switch
• Calendar work-around 
  • Working better now
  • If member, clicks are streamlined
  • If not a member, will take first to membership page
• 502 Errors and website updates
  • Related to HostGator, have 3-year contract through July 2025
  • Proposed to move back to AWS for current stability
  • Jon would cover AWS costs initially; he estimates it would eventually cost BWW about $30/month.
  • Can look at other platforms longer term
• WildApricot: potential to replace, and integrate, website and EventBrite
  • Can set up a workshop-specific forum so registrants can communicate and share files
  • Robust member platform, including subgroups like participating members and contributing members
  • Relatively simple import to bring current information over (couple of months); make updates after that process
  • Can transition with some workshops first like WritingScapes
  • Events: can set up reminders, notices, simple registration
  • System will let participants know if already signed up
  • Can see who else has signed up
  • Products section
  • Donations section interfaces with PayPal; site has it own system to replace our current website’s link to PayPal, which would require all donors to re-register. It would not reduce any current PP fees. May lose members in transition. Have them renew in WildApricot and even if losing some, we’d eventually gain new donors.
  • WildApricot would cost about $3000/year for up to 2,000 members including PayPal connection.
  • VCA grant ($2500, application due May 3), if received, could help with operating level costs; or find corporate sponsors to match what BWW raises; provide something important and tangible to raise funds for
  • From member side, appears simpler; also appears less complex administratively because of one platform, simpler to manage
  • Has permission control for access
  • Master class videos now on YouTube, need to determine how to setup so CMs see after 6 months has passed
  • Would need to find another place for MSR; WordPress working better for MSR because of not having events
  • Current budget can support this change for short-term to provide significant improvements but longer-term will need to pursue fundraising
  • AWS, MailerLite costs shared by BWW and MSR, Submittable for MSR, and Zoom are the other large expenses
  • Jon will set up sample workshop for LT to test it
• Security concerns with Zoom licenses
  • Subaccounts: for switching out/sharing licenses; need admin access to Zoom but won’t have access to other accounts
  • Dennis, Jon, and Dick are currently sharing Zoom licenses; simpler than having subaccounts but sharing accounts can bring security concerns
  • Dick: managing Zoom, TechSoup, and QuikBooks accounts
  • Mistakes happen: accidentally banning rather than admitting workshop participants
  • Four licenses last year; 10 this year and can increase as needed with discounts
  • Because we don’t plan to share accounts except with experienced admins (Jon, Dennis, or Dick), then we don’t need to address issues of security and subaccounts at this time. If more accounts are needed, we will buy more licenses.

Fundraising Team (Jane)

• Funding Group: sending out Zoom license appeal letter on Tues.
• Hoping to secure grant to specifically replace EventBrite
• New volunteer on team with grant-writing experience

Annual Meeting (Dick)

• General members can nominate potential board members; call needs to go out 8 weeks before (almost immediately) and will need closing date for nominations;
• Nominations announced at least 4 weeks before annual meeting
• Current board members who were not elected in a previous Annual Meeting, those whose term is expiring, and new nominations get voted on
• Members can suggest agenda items, let them know now
• Verify board member terms expiring in year following, and advise members at meeting
• Plan how to conduct meeting
  • Don’t have dry reports
  • Develop compelling, interesting examples, calls to action about most relevant issues
• 3 board seats coming up for election: Millie, Dick, and Julie
• Officer positions get voted on at first Board meeting following annual meetingJon and Sam donated a subscription, used for birthdays, contributing members, thank you cards.
• Sam will send template of letter from last year to Katie and Janet for sending out under their names as co-chairs
• We are now 10 weeks out so can’t postpone finalization of letter to next LT
• Email letter will go out soon to solicit nominations and agenda items; give 2 weeks to respond

Other (Sam)

• Vision statement: determine how broad to aim, and level of growth
  • How actively do we want to recruit new members?
  • Where do we want to go with new workshops?
  • Have separate one-hour LT meeting just to discuss this or fit into LT agenda?
  • Could have some focused discussion at general meeting
  • Could benefit from having funding responses beforehand but won’t know about grants for several months; need to know available funding to plan growth: more specific strategic plan items are the ones that are dependent on knowing funding
  • 1 year and 5 year plans; meet to review the Strategic Plan
  • We have 2 LT meetings before annual meeting to include SP discussion
• Advertising is increasing some member signups
• Some members still confused about changes that have occurred
• Poetry Path going forward: Cabot and Burlington, possibly Intervale as different location for Burlington that’s more prominent
  • Reimburse for sign? Reusable, but keep only inside to maintain them

  • Raffle off with silent auction to raise money.
  • Some supplies left over.
  • Estimated less than $200 needed.
  • If not paid for by Parks & Rec, is it worth spending BWW funds? What is benefit to BWW, reward for investment?
  • Word is getting out. Benefit for members having people know about their work.
  • QR codes on entrance and exit signs, so people can get more information about authors and BWW.
  • Could do more evaluation in second year.
  • Got two local newspaper coverages, hits on websites, and boosted morale.
  • More recognition in the community.
  • Motion: Two locations, provide $250 payment for supplies; Passed.
  • Consider other community events as well.

MSR (Jon)

• Update: Managing Editor stepping down and recruiting a new one

Adjourned: 8:28 PM

 Date for next LT meeting: April 16, 7:00 PM. First hour on strategic plan (Sam will send information)